Full Circle Associates

For years I have sponsored friends doing charity walk (like the March of Dimes’ Walk for Babies coming up soon.) That’s a no brainer. However, I’ve never sponsored an athlete-environmentalist. But now I have.

As of a few hours ago, I sponsored a bunch of temporary tattoos to help amazing beach volleyballista Colleen Smith, aka, 6footsix energize kids to help save our environment. You can read about it here.

Why Colleen? A couple of reasons. First of all, my pal Steve Crandall (another “imaginary friend who I met via my online network) told me about Colleen and her story grabbed me. He asked if I can help. NOTHING BEATS A PERSONAL ASK! So we started brainstorming. I strongly supported Steve’s impulse to set up a blog and I said to add a donation mechanism. I think Colleen’s story resonates and that people will respond.

I told my friend, freelance writer and yoga teacher, Erin Pursell (also a great editor) about Colleen. Erin eventually interviewed Colleen for an upcoming story in Sierra Magazine. Because, you know, getting the word out is important.

For Steve and I, it seemed fitting to activate our networks to support Colleen, not just in her work to become a winning beach volleyball player, but because she was interweaving her sport with a passion for the environment and, particularly, engaging kids in environmental issues. Why?

Backstory from Colleen’s blog:

I started thinking more about living in a greener world and thought about the beaches I play volleyball on. If global warming persists at the rate us earthlings are consuming, some predictions state that by 2100 the sea level will rise up to 6 meters! Just to put this into perspective, that is 3 Colleens! This made me realize that perhaps I could make a bigger difference than just making changes in my life; while on tour, I could encourage others to make changes in their own lives.

A friend of mine designed a temporary tattoo for me and I am going to wear it at one meter on my body which is just below where my bikini bottom meets my thigh. Crazywave_3This mark is going to represent where the sea level may rise to by the year 2060. This is during our lifetimes, people!

I really enjoy talking to kids and want to get their ideas on living greener. I am going to encourage them, their parents, and other adults to join my green team. In order to do so, they must promise me to change one aspect in their lives to contribute to a better greener world. Upon making this promise, they will be provided with a token to keep their word: a temporary tattoo, a re-usable shopping bag, or a 1-meter magnet to stick to their fridge. All kids will receive an extremely cool storyboard from Pixar artist, Nick Sung, just to give them some ideas how they and their friends can live greener lives. (THANK YOU NICK FOR YOUR GENEROUS VOLUNTEERMANSHIP!!!)

Second reason? Because I can. My contribution is tiny. But tiny contributions add up. And people’s lives can be changed. Not just Colleens, but the kids she will reach. That is power.

So, can you help? Bob (or spike) over to Colleen’s blog and click the paypal button. Maybe you too, can become a sponsor!

One of my favorite communities, Knowledge Management for Development (KM4Dev as we call it), will have it’s annual F2F in Almada, Portugal, just across the Tagus river from Lisbon. Yes, I lobbied for Portugal because some of my dear friends are there, giving me multiple reasons to hop on a plane. The gathering in June will be in Open Space, so anyone can bring their knowledge to share, questions to pose and you can be sure, there WILL be partying. I have to start getting in Party-Shape to keep up with these friends and colleagues!

Who can come? Anyone who decides to join the community via our site or DGroups email list and shares a passion for the application of knowledge and learning in international development. So that might be YOU!

It looks like I may be in Lisbon the few days earlier to give a talk at an Elearning Conf. More on that later!